


Fate

by FreakM



Category: The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Returns (2001)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Romance, F/M, Historical References, Mythology References
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:34:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23532412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreakM/pseuds/FreakM
Summary: When the Gods speak, you listen. When the Gods grant you a task, you go. Although being both a philosopher and scholar Augusta has never questioned her Gods, she knows her place in their universe and is content with it. But not even the Gods can defy the Fates who have a plan all their own.Augusta finds herself wondering if their plan all along was for her to die in these sands or finally find a place of peace within them and beside a man not so very different from herself.
Relationships: Ardeth Bay/Original Character(s), Ardeth Bay/Original Female Character(s), Evy Carnahan O'Connell/Rick O'Connell
Kudos: 3





	Fate

The vast expanse of the desert stretched out before them, illuminated by a full moon, casting dark shades of blue across the sands. The lone camel carrying two different figures, one large and broad, the other smaller and more delicate, made its way across the dunes, guided by the larger figure while the smaller one lounged.

The larger and more imposing figure belonged to a man named Alvah. He was taller than most men, physically fit and capable of feats of strength that others would only dream of attempting. Truly he was a perfect specimen of masculinity, being strong, well-groomed and handsome, with deep olive skin, long black hair and a trimmed beard. He wore the markings of a warrior on his face and body in deep blues and blacks though the only viable ones were upon his cheeks and forehead.  
The smaller, less imposing figure belonged to a woman named Augusta. She was average height, not as physically strong as Alvah and lacking almost any muscle mass. She was lovely to look upon though, with a renaissance beauty most women didn't have anymore. Her body was shapely, covered in freckles, her eyes a deep blue and her hair a short maintained mass of red curls. Like her company, however, she too wore the markings of a warrior and scholar upon her body in various shades of color ranging from black to the deepest blue and sometimes even gold. Hers were more visible, ranging from her lower lip to chin, her wrists, and fingertips, stretching back beneath her clothes.

The two were immensely different and yet had bonded in a way that very few would ever experience with another. 

“Comfortable?” came the rich baritone that was Alvah’s voice. Augusta, who had been lounged against his chest and watching the stars above them, flicked her eyes to his briefly before moving them back to the sky. “If you mean, am I comfortable riding on this animal, the answer is no. I am comfortable with you as a pillow, however.” 

Alvah chuckled, adjusting his grip on the reins and ensuring that Augusta would not lean in such a way that she might fall. “How much further until we reach these ruins?”  
Augusta sighed, shifting her body to grab a rolled-up map from her satchel. She glanced at the sky again, memorizing the position of the stars before rolling the map open in her hands, allowing her eyes time to adjust to the darkness of the desert at night. “I'm still amazed” she began “That you have never heard of these ruins. I thought that the Medjai knew every grain of sand in this accursed wasteland.”  
Alvah, having been a Medjai in life, a descendent of the royal guards of the pharaohs of ancient times, did indeed know most of the desert and almost all of its secrets. However “no man could ever hope to know all the grains of sand and the secrets they hide,” Alvah said, adjusting the path through the dunes when Augusta gestured to shift more to the right. “thank the gods then, that I am a woman.”

Their pace was decent and Augusta estimated that they would reach the site by dawn the latest taking into account that unlike them, their mount needed to rest as it was still a living breathing animal. "I wonder if I could conjure or resurrect an undead horse so that it could go on as long as we" she mused aloud during one of their little breaks to allow the camel a rest and water under Alvah’s patient care. "While I have no doubt that you could, I would prefer you did not." The camel having been watered leaned its body down to rest in the sand as Alvah made his way to Augusta and did the same. "Why is that? Would it not be more practical to have such a mount? We are not bound by the restrictions of the living yet we are bound by the restrictions of a living mount."

A bitterly cold wind ripped across the dunes. While true that the days in Egypt had a heat to them that could almost choke a person, the nights were often anything but. This night was cold, they could both feel it, they could acknowledge it, but it did not affect them. Alvah had a thoughtful look on his face before he pursed his lips and gave a gentle shake of his head. "While I will admit that we do not have the same restrictions as others I do believe we are still alive. We have a spark of life in us placed there by the gods themselves. We are alive. Just not in the same way others are."

"Then we are undead."

"I would also prefer to not be called undead."

"Fair" Augusta hummed for a moment then gently nudged Alvah "We were getting slightly off-topic. Why would you prefer a living mount to one who, like us, would not be burdened with the need to eat, drink, and rest? We would already be at the ruins had our furry friend no need to stop." Alvah shook his head and moved his eyes to the stars. These were the stars he gazed upon as a boy in this desert and they always seemed to provide a sense of comfort. "Because such things bring me a level of peace. I have changed, they have not. It is a pleasant reminder of my life before." Augusta leaned slightly forward to look into his eyes. "In that case...next time we should get a horse." Alvah let out a small chuckle, his arm coming up to wrap around Augusta’s shoulders, allowing her to lean into him as they both now gazed at the stars.

"I do not know what difference it would make to you. You do not know how to ride either a camel or a horse." She hummed in acknowledgment, not denying the truth of the statement. "You know when this is though we could stay awhile longer and I could teach you." 

"My thanks dear horsemen but I shall pass."

"I do not understand your aversion to learning such a useful skill. Or how you made it by in life without learning for I know you traveled often."

"Not as often as you'd think. However, there was no need to learn because I was kept in the safety of a carriage when I traveled or I was on a boat."

"And now?"

"Now I have you. And it is much more comfortable to use you as a pillow then ride astride that beast on my own."

"Princess…"

"Peasant."

They held their silence for a moment before both laughed. There was no heat to their words, just a playfulness that one would often see in those who shared close bonds of friendship. Alvah eventually gently nudged Augusta away and stood, offering his hand to pull her to her feet. With practiced ease, he settled into the saddle and nudged the camel to its feet before assisting Augusta up and onto the saddle in front of him. 

"Now, explain to me what is so important about these ruins in full detail this time. I would prefer to not find myself in any surprising situations if at all possible."

Augusta reached into her satchel and removed a small leather journal. She flipped through to the most recent pages which were covered in notes, sketches and instructions. "These ruins were once a fortified temple constructed by the Romans to keep a sacred relic safe at the behest of Jupiter himself. That is, Zeus himself."

Alvah deeply sighed and gave a gentle shake of his head. "Am I to assume that this relic is so powerful that even the gods were said to fear it?" Augusta shrugged her shoulders with a short smile. "Not for themselves but for mortals which is why it was sent far from their lands and into the sands of Egypt. Now as I was saying the temple was fortified, it held high walls and was constantly under the watchful guard of the most highly trained soldiers available who would serve the temple till they died. The temple itself housed only three priestesses who were tasked with watching over the relic.”

Alvah raised a brow and glanced down when Augusta shifted to show him a sketch of the temple. It held high walls of stone and was built in a circle with only one gate. Behind the walls stood a small Roman temple not unlike ones he had seen in their previous travels. “It seems rather small, though I suppose that made it easier to defend.” He finally said. “More than likely, but, it is also likely that the temple itself was partially underground. I haven’t been able to find out much about its inner construction, unfortunately, so we will be going in blind there. The only reason I was able to piece this much together for the sketch is through stories of hearsay so this is also a guess at best.”

“So much for only a few surprises then.”

“Sorry, Alvah.”

“Never you mind, continue, tell me what these soldiers and priestesses were tasked with protecting.”

Augusta nodded and flipped to another page with several sketches that all appeared to be ancient “Scissors? Those are scissors yes?” Alvah looked dubiously at the pages that showed various bladed implements that were joined together with a squeezable metal. Some were simple, some ornate, however, they all did appear to be scissors. Augusta raised her brows and gave a small smile and nod. “Yes. They are certainly scissors. I sketched these trying to conjure an idea of what exactly we were looking for based on my own experience with similar styled ones however I wasn’t sure if they would be ornate or simple. I mean it is always a toss-up between items of divine power whether or not they will be golden and ornate or very simple.” 

Alvah’s dubious expression only seemed to increase as he listened to Augusta talk before he felt his mind come to a stumbling halt as he blurted out “Divine power.” Augusta nodded again and turned to another page depicting various forms of three women. “I’m going to assume you’ve never heard of the Moirai, or as they are more commonly known the Fates.” This time Alvah transferred the reins of the camel to one hand and gently took the journal to closely examine the sketches. “You show them in different forms. Young, old, monstrous.” He said as he handed the journal back.

“That’s because the stories about them are constantly changing and span more than just Rome and Greece. They have been shaping and changing the destiny of mortals and gods alike since the beginning and held such power that none could rival them. These women were known as the Moirai, the Norns, the Parcae, the Fates. Now growing up I knew them as the Parcae but they are now more commonly known as the Fates, the sisters Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos.”

Alvah shook his head and Augusta stopped speaking for a moment. “While I normally enjoy hearing you lecture and spread your knowledge, I am very keen to understand where scissors of divine power come into play.” Augusta softly huffed but smiled “I was getting to that.” “Ah, my apologies. Continue then.”

“As I was saying, the sister goddesses were known as Clotho, the present, she who spun the thread, Lachesis, the future, she who measured its allotted length, and Atropos, the past, she who cut it off with her shears, or …” she trailed off looking expectantly at Alvah “Her scissors.” He said. “Correct!” Augusta beamed as she continued “Now these goddesses quite literally held the fate of all in their hands in the form of thread. Everyone, mortals, gods, even you and me, have a thread of fate that preordains our lives.” 

“And the scissors decide when life ends.” Augusta nodded “In more ways than one. You see although Lachesis decided the length of the tread and Atropos cut the thread to that length, sometimes the thread would be cut short or sooner than expected. Those who defy fate, after all, will suffer consequences for their arrogance. The only beings whose thread could not be cut are the gods who are immortal and therefore cannot die.” Alvah nodded along “That does not mean that they could defy the Fates either which brings us to the scissors. Now it is unknown exactly when the scissors came into the possession of mortals or even how, there are multiple stories on this matter, but the most likely one is they were somehow stolen and the gods, instead of demanding their return, allowed them to stay in mortal hands as a way to limit the power of the Fates.”

“And we have been sent to secure them and bring them to the safety of the Repository because no mortal should be able to control the fate of all.”

“Correct again!” Augusta beamed once more as Alvah seemed to sink into himself with a tired sigh. “And who, may I ask, sent us on this quest?” 

“I have no idea!”

The camel was jerked to an abrupt stop.

Augusta jumped in the saddle and clutched the front of Alvah’s black outer robes to keep herself in place. "Do you mean to tell me that you, you who commune with the gods themselves, have no idea who tasked us with this quest?" Alvah’s face was one of pure disbelief as he stared down at the small woman in front of him. "Was it not a patron god of yours who asked and that is why you do not tell me?"

Augusta arched a brow "Have I ever withheld information from you of any kind since you joined our ranks?" Alvah sighed and his eyes shifted from hers to the desert once more as he nudged the camel to continue on. "No. You have not."

"And I'm not now. I honestly have no idea who sent us the quest. I wasn't contacted as I normally would have been. No visions, dreams or outright visits. I found a note on my podium. It was written in Latin which is not unusual seeing as how it's the dominant language of our order but it did not bear the mark of any god. I considered ignoring it but after I looked into the matter I decided that this was important enough to go on a little faith and make the journey."

"Never mind that only so many people have access to your lecture area and only fewer more would be brave enough to send us on a pointless journey," Alvah added. 

"You do realize it is you they fear and not me? You're all tall, dark and foreboding. I am not. People would approach me far more often before you came around."

"You do not like most people."

"Be that as it may, they would still at least talk to me." Once more they shared a smirk with each other before Augusta pulled out the map once more and checked their progress. "Not much further." Alvah nodded and hummed thoughtfully "Speaking of lectures, how is your favorite student? I do not believe you have visited him for some time."

“I have not. We have been sent out more frequently than normal lately and he has been busy with his schooling. They are on break from school at the moment, I was hoping to see him before we head home, he should be in Egypt with his family.”

“I would not mind making the journey with you, if for no other reason then to be there when they inevitably set forth some other catastrophe.” Augusta rolled her eyes but maintained an easy smile. “Trouble does seem to follow them.” Alvah let out a short laugh “Seems to? His mother summoned the creature from its ancient prison by reading from the black book and then your student began another chain of events which could have led to the apocalypse by putting on the Bracelet of Anubis. The only one with common sense in that family appears to be the father.”

“I’m not arguing with you on that but you have to admit, they make it a point to fix their mistakes and more importantly, they have been blessed by the gods. It is not for us to judge them, merely guide them, as I do with Alexander. And do not believe for a moment that I don’t know the only reason you believe Mr. O'connell to be the only one with common sense is because he wears the mark of the Medjai!”

Alvah’s sharp bark of laughter was all the answer Augusta needed to confirm to herself that she was right. “Very well then, we shall secure these scissors and then seek out your student before heading home.” Augusta smiled in agreement and then returned her journal and the map to her satchel once more. They spent the last moments of their journey in the calm quiet of the desert as the sun began to slowly peak above the horizon. As they reached the crest of a dune they gazed down into the valley before them and upon the collapsing walls of a Roman fort in the sands surrounding a half-buried temple. 

“De Motu Veridicos Parcae Templi” Augusta softly said as she straightened in the saddle to see the valley below them more clearly. Alvah automatically settled his hands on her hips to steady her as he too gazed upon the ruins, his mind used to translating the Latin Augusta often spoke to himself. ‘The Temple of the Fates.’

They had reached their destination.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read the first chapter of a story I have been pondering for years. I hope to continue the developing plot soon with the beloved characters from the movie making an actual appearance as opposed to just being spoken about but I am having an issue figuring out a few small details. First meetings are tricky. However, I am already starting the next chapter and intend for them all to make an appearance within it. 
> 
> Till next time.


End file.
